Yesterday after school

One of the busiest times of the day for us is the two-hour period after the school day ends. In the past, most students visited us during lunch, since they had to work after school. Nowadays, many of them also stay after their classes are over to do homework, get help, and hang out.

Yesterday, 3 o'clock rolled by and we were mobbed as usual. Students were working on English and physical science homework, filling out SAT registration forms, and using the computers. Five of us--three mentors, a volunteer, and I--went around the room and talked to students.

Usually, things calm down by 4, but not yesterday. During our second hour, students kept right on working. A game of Guess Who started in the corner, while two students had a discussion about Chinese and Spanish. All of us remained busy, busy, busy.

Our program closes at 5. At 4:55, many students were still hard at work. "Time to go home," we said. "We don't want to leave!" they said. "Can we stay here all the time?" But it was time to go for the day. We will see them again this afternoon.